Mario & Luigi: The Seven Gold Stars
by SuperWario
Summary: Princess Peach has yet again been kidnapped and it's up to the Super Mario Bros. to rescue her. But, after learning about the secret of the Seven Gold Stars, things begin to get more complicated than they seem to be. What strange power could these Gold Stars possess and what could be in store for our Plumber Heroes? Read on and find out.


**Well, this is my first story that I wrote a long time ago. I'm just rereading what i wrote and I'm fixing any mistakes i made when i was little. I understand it is a bit lengthy compared to all the other stories that are posted on this website but my goal is to make 8 chapters, not including this prologue and the future epilogue i want to write. ****I hope you guys take the time and enjoy reading my story.  
**_**  
(Just a formality, anything associated with this story with the exception of what i made up and the story itself, belongs to Nintendo.)**_

**_Prologue  
_**

**_The Adventure Begins_**

It is a beautiful night outside at the Mushroom Kingdom Castle. So beautiful, you can see the whole front yard lit up with flood lights and lamp posts showing off how green the landscaping is. The sky is clear as day with a crescent moon and so many stars traversing the night sky. Displaying outside of the Castle on each side, are 10 feet tall bushes, representing a perfectly trimmed Princess Peach and the image of Mario & Luigi, with each of their arm on their shoulders with both of them giving the peace sign. The sound of running water can be heard from the tall fountain serving as the center piece of the front yard whilst giving off a nice glistening reflection of the moon and stars. The Castle windows are also contributing beams of light coming from inside with a beautiful stained glass portrait of Princess Peach serving as the centerpiece of the Castle itself. Shining in a rainbow of colors, looking at this scene is a spectacle in of itself.

In the basement of the Castle, we catch a glimpse of a few familiar faces. Toad (THE TOAD) is short with his big white Mushroom head with a distinctive pattern of 5 red spots and he wears his trademark blue vest. He serves as the main retainer for the Princess. Toadsworth is a little taller and much older than Toad, but he has a big Brown Mushroom head instead of a white one and has a pattern of 5 white spots on it. He also has a firm white, but short handlebar mustache with a pair of small bifocals. He always carries a wooden staff with a Brown Mushroom ornament on the end of it and also wears a blue vest just like Toad but has a strikingly bright gold trim on it. He is the Princess's royal advisor and head of the Mushroom retainers. Princess Peach is the ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom. Sitting on top of her long blonde hair is a golden crown with a red center stone. She wears a long pink dress with a blue brooch on her chest and she has sparkling blue eyes and earrings to match while standing tall with her bright red high heels. They found themselves in one of the storage rooms with a very old and dusty chandelier hanging in the middle of the ceiling, no longer working.

There are so many boxes and old lamps all over the room, Princess Peach was enjoying herself while Toad didn't really seem to care as much. She was looking in boxes that had old vases, dresses, and other junk of that nature while Toad was looking at the old stand up lamps as he is holding a vase with a design on it. Even though he knew that it wasn't going to work, he decided trying to turn it on anyway. Then he put the vase down and turning to glance over at the Princess, he noticed Toadsworth was standing by the door waiting impatiently.

"Princess, it's getting late and we have to post the note for Master Mario and Master Luigi." said Toadsworth. "Okay Toadsworth, just one more minute." Toad saw him shake his head and then he said, "You guys can go and I'll go put the maintenance note on the door." "Thank you Toad." said Toadsworth with a smile. Toad walked toward him and he gave the note to Toad and then he walked out of the room. "Princess, please?" asked Toadsworth. She looked at him and saw him wave his staff through the open door. She sighed and she put whatever she had in her hand back in the box and started walking toward him. She was walking fast and didn't see the vase Toad put on the floor and stumbled over it. She tried to maintain her balance by grabbing an unlit torch on the wall next to her, but it gave way and turned. The torch made a clicking sound as she fell on top of some boxes, puffing up a huge cloud of dust, filling the air around her.

Toadsworth gasped and ran to her aid as he shouted, "PRINCESS!" She started coughing as he reached her and tried to help her to her feet. "I knew this was a bad idea coming into this room. There is nothing but useless junk, that's why it's in here in the first place. Are you alright Princess?" She got up on her feet and started brushing off the dust on her dress as she turned to see what she tripped on the floor. "Yeah, I'm fine." As she finished brushing herself off, they both noticed the floor next to them slowly vibrating. They both stepped away from and it and the floor started to open up until it was fully open. They saw a set of stairs as the torches on the walls leading down the stairs were being lit up, one by one until all 6 of them were lit. They looked at each other and Toadsworth quickly said, "Princess, we're not going down there." "I figured you would say that, but do you think I'll listen anyway?" she replied with a conniving smile. He grabbed his head and shook it back and forth after he realized that she was right. "Fine, we'll check it out, but let me go first. I want nothing happening to you." "Thank you Toadsworth." She replied with a smile as he readied his staff and started to walk down the stairs with her following behind.

They continued slowly down the old cemented stairs as they looked around the hall and noticed all the cobwebs on the ceiling and walls. "I know everything about this Castle but I never even knew about this." she said as her voice echoed. "Yeah, I never knew about this either. It makes me wonder what else we haven't found out yet." he replied. They finally reached the bottom after going down what felt like 100 steps, and stood before an open room as more torches inside the room lit up. They proceeded into the room and took a good looked around and noticed a big wooden chest in the middle of the floor. Toadsworth continued to walk toward the chest as Princess Peach went to take one of the torches off the wall and she held it near the chest for light. It had so much dust on it that it looked like it hadn't been touched for a very long time. The giant lock in the middle of the chest was corroded to the point of no functionality. They took a good look at it and she asked with curiosity, "How old do you think it is?" "I don't have the slightest clue." "Let's open it!" and she was about to try and open it when Toadsworth held her back with his staff. "Stand back and let _me_ open it. I can't stop _you_ from opening it so I will do it. I don't want you getting hurt." He walked in front of the chest and examined the heavily rusted lock. Then he took his staff and went into his batting stance. He charged up his swing and swung the staff with all his might and hit the lock. As he hit the lock, it made a distinctive metal clang and the lock flew clean off of the chest.

"Good job, Toadsworth!" she said happily as she ran to the front of the chest. "Thanks. Now let's open this thing." She gave Toadsworth the torch and she lifted the lid of the chest as the hinges squeaked and creaked. When she finally lifted the lid all the way, the hinges gave way and the lid broke off the chest completely, falling onto the floor and shattering into pieces. They were surprised by the lid breaking; they backed away as more dust sprouted into the air around them. They covered their mouths and when the dust cleared, they walked back over to it and looked inside with the torch. They each gave a confused look at each other and when they went to look in the chest again, Toadsworth said, "It's only a piece of paper." She reached down and grabbed the piece of paper and noticed it was folded. "What do you think it is?" she asked as she tried to unfold it. "I don't know, but I think it would be best if we look at it upstairs." "Good idea. It's starting to get creepy down here." she replied. They put the torch back on the wall and left the secret room, climbing back up the stairs and then leaving the storage room. The torches blew out and the floor to the secret room sealed itself.

_**Meanwhile**_

Toad was in the big cellar somewhere in the basement. He casually walked to the door as he kicked up some water that was on the floor and he posted the drawing on the door. "Hmmm. Maybe I'll take a peak." he said with a curious tone. He took the handle and turned it as it squeaked like a rusty door hinge, and the door creaked open. He saw the pipe system and some water on the floor as he heard drips dropping into the puddle of water. "I thought it would have looked worse than this." he said to himself. He closed the door and started to walk away, but he quickly stopped and took a good look ahead. He saw someone standing in the shadows by the door he came through.

He waited for the figure to do something but it just stood there by the door. "Hello?" asked Toad but there was no response. "Hello. Who is it?" he asked again but there was still no answer. Toad walked closer to the figure that was now blocking the door but he kept on walking anyway. The figure saw him walking and started moving forward. Toad stopped nervously and asked shockingly, "Who are you?" The figure kept walking toward him and soon, Toad got a good vision of whom it was. He gasped as he shouted, "It's you! How did you-" But before he could finish his sentence, somebody smacked him in the head with a hard object. He landed face first onto the floor and the second figure nudged him with his foot but Toad didn't move. He was unconscious. The 2 figures walked through the door and continued to proceed to go upstairs.

Princess Peach and Toadsworth were sitting at the dining room table examining the piece of paper they had found earlier. It is a very big dining room with 6 wall lamps surrounding the room and a Crystal chandelier hanging over the table which let out a shine when the lights hit it. There are also two sets of candle stands with 3 holders in each stand in the middle of the table which were lit up. There're two standing guards at each of the 3 doors in the dining room. Princess Peach carefully unfolded the piece of paper and what they saw was very surprising, but at the same time confusing. "It looks like a map." said Toadsworth. "Yeah but, it looks weird because it doesn't even look like the Mushroom Kingdom." "But, it clearly says it right here." he said as he pointed to the upper right hand corner as he continued. "I guess that's what makes it so weird and confusing."

They both stood there in silence wondering what this could all mean when the map started giving off a bright white light. They gasped and backed away as the guards surrounded the table and readied their spears. The map started flashing and the bright white light was pulsating as the map was starting to float in the air and everybody couldn't believe what they were seeing. The map's design was changing. Then it gave out a flash and the light disappeared followed by it falling onto the table. Once it landed, they all ran to go see it, including the guards. They were all shocked at the discovery that had been revealed. "Princess look, the map." said Toadsworth. They looked at the map and Princess Peach said, "Now that looks like the Mushroom Kingdom I know." The design was a map of _present day_ Mushroom Kingdom. They looked at each other and Princess Peach said, "We have to call Mario & Luigi!" Toadsworth looked at the clock and it read 11:57 PM. "But Princess, look at the time. It's very late to be calling Mario & Luigi, especially since this isn't really an emergency. We'll tell them in the morning." "Oh fine. I guess you're right." She replied with a sigh. Then she remembered, "Where's Toad?" "He probably went to bed already." replied Toadsworth. He shrugged his shoulders and grabbed his staff as she grabbed the map and they were ready to leave the room to go to bed.

Suddenly, they all heard the sound of a creaking door and they all turned toward it. The door slowly opened all the way and there was nobody on the other side. The 2 guards rushed over the door with their spears ready. "Toad, is that you?" asked Princess Peach but nobody appeared before them. "Toad, this isn't funny, so come out now." said Toadsworth angry but still, nobody decided to show up. Toadsworth pointed to the two guards to go see so they both crept to the door and looked into the hall. Then, they both walked into the hall and stood outside.

Suddenly, they all saw the 2 guards vanish and dropped their spears and then all they heard was two bullet bill shots. They both gasped and the 4 remaining guards jumped in front of them and readied to throw their spears. Then, they saw a round black object headed toward them and dropped at their feet. "IT'S A BOB-OMB!" shouted the guards and before anybody could react, there was an explosion, and everybody was flown in all directions of the dining room. The table was destroyed into a million pieces and the explosion created a hole in the floor. The chandelier fell and shattered on the ground and some of the wall lamps were broken and the rest were flickering. There was so much debris and smoke clouding the air and some of the furniture was on fire and the lamps shooting out sparks. Toadsworth started coughing while he was on the ground. "Princess!" He continued to cough uncontrollably. He had cuts and scratches all over his body and he couldn't walk. His bifocals were bent, but he was able to make out what he was witnessing.

He managed to find Princess Peach on the ground, but she wasn't moving at all. With all of his strength, he started to crawl to her. "PRINCESS!" he shouted as he continued to crawl to her. He reached her and she still wasn't moving. Her dress was partially black and torn with cuts and scrapes on her face. He went to check her pulse and to his relief, she was still alive. "Guards, HELP!" but nobody responded. The two figures walked into the room and witnessed the devastation that they have created. They glanced over at the map and one of them picked it up. They looked at it and smiled and gave out a small chuckle. Toadsworth noticed the two figures but couldn't exactly see them because of the smoke and his vision. "Please help, the Princess is unconscious." he said scared. Then without warning, he too, was also shot. Toadsworth groaned as he put his hands over his stomach area as he groaned and lay on his back. He was now gravely injured.

His breathing became slower and heavy as he said in a muffled voice, "Oh God!" He saw the figures pick up Princess Peach right next to him and gave out an evil laugh as they left the room. "TOAD! CALL FOR HELP! CALL MARIO!" No one answered. "TOAD!" He was lying next to the hole on the floor that the explosion from the Bob-Omb made and as he looked down he was shocked and scared. He seemed to have given up all hope as he saw Toad in the basement with his face down on the floor in a pool of blood. "Somebody help us." he said to himself as a whisper. He began to take one more look around and saw the alarm on the wall and started to crawl to it as he began to start coughing up blood from his mouth. It felt like an eternity but after leaving a trail of blood behind him, he finally managed to reach the alarm, but it was too high. He couldn't stand up either but then he saw his staff up against the wall and grabbed it. He used what little strength he had left and he tried to hit the switch. He missed the first and second time but the third time he nailed it and the alarm was wailing so loud throughout the Castle as the entire room was flashing red. Toadsworth dropped his staff and he slowly closed his eyes. He is not moving with one of his hands over his stomach while lying in his own pool of blood.

_**The Pipe House  
**__**(The Next Morning)**_

Just outside of Toad Town, the sun has risen and a slight wind is blowing, brushing the tree's leaves against each other. The sound of birds chirping can be heard in what seems to be a pleasant morning. Here we arrive at the Pipe House, a regular size home of the Mario Bros. One of our heroes is calmly preparing a little breakfast in the kitchen, patiently waiting for his brother to awaken. He is whistling a tune as he is flipping some eggs from a skillet as the toaster goes off and shoots toast into the air. He quickly picked up a plate and caught the toast with it without losing a shred of focus. He stands tall wearing his green shirt and green cap with a letter green "L" on it. He also wears Navy Blue overalls and has a firm black mustache and brown hair and work boots. His eyes are blue and he wears white gloves. He is the younger brother and his name is Luigi.

He heard the alarm go off in their room and he casually walked over to the stairs. Our other hero smacks the alarm box off and he jumped out of bed. He stretched his arms out while giving out a big yawn at the same time. "Hey bro, you awake!?" He heard Luigi yell from down the stairs and he responded, "Yeah, I'll be down in ten minutes, Luigi."

Luigi heard the shower go on and off as he went to go finish up what he was doing in the kitchen. He finished his breakfast sandwich and then went to go clean his plate in the sink. Luigi heard him come down the stairs and walked in the kitchen. He stands shorter than his brother Luigi and he is wearing almost exactly what he is wearing. But there are major differences to each of the brothers. He is wearing a red shirt and red cap with a letter red "M" on it. He prefers to wear Light Blue overalls and he has a firm black mustache as well but not as neatly trimmed like Luigi's. He also has brown hair and work boots and his eyes are blue and he wears white gloves. He is the older, but shorter and chubbier brother and his name is Mario. "Boy Luigi that looks good." he said looking at the sandwich and rubbing his hands together. "Mario, we gotta leave in 10 minutes." "Right, don't worry, I'll be quick."

Mario started eating his breakfast and Luigi went to put his clean plate away in the cabinet. Then he walked into the living room and grabbed a brown tool bag with all of their plumbing tools. He started walking back to the kitchen when their phone, shaped like a mushroom, started to ring. Luigi put down the bag and went to go answer it. He picked up the receiver and was now standing next to the kitchen doorway. "Hello?" "…" "We'll be there in 15 minutes." "…..." "What happened, what's wrong Toad?" asked Luigi concerned. Mario turned around and looked at him while he was still eating. "…." "Toad, calm down and tell me what happened." "…" "What!?" "…." Luigi gasped, "Oh my God!" "What happened, what's the matter?" asked Mario with his mouth full. Luigi took the phone away from his mouth and turned toward Mario. "Toadsworth got shot and someone kidnapped the Princess!" Mario spit food of his mouth and he started to cough and gag uncontrollably. "Don't worry Toad, we-" Luigi heard the gagging and looked over at Mario as he was smacking his chest and pointed to his neck.

"OH GOD, MARIO!" Luigi dropped the phone and quickly ran and skidded behind him. He wrapped his arms around him and he started to give him the Heimlich maneuver. He did it 3 times and then the food flew right out of Mario's mouth. He sighed as Mario leaned on his knees and stopped to catch his breathe. "Mario, you okay?" "Yeah, I'm fine." Mario coughed once more and he got up and ran over to the phone. He picked it up and quickly answered, "Toad?" "…?" "We are on our way to the Castle." Mario hung up the phone and he grabbed Luigi by the collar and they ran out the front door towards the Green Pipe. "Luigi, this is serious? I specifically told him to call us if anything. Why didn't he tell us this before?" "Maybe we'll find out when we get there." They reached the Pipe and Mario spin jumped in first and Luigi jumped straight in after him.

Mario & Luigi jumped out of the pipe near the front entrance of Toad Town and they made a dash to the Castle. Toad Town is the main town that is just outside of Princess Peach's Castle and it is the only means to get to the castle. The town is mainly consisted of toads but there are a variety of people that live in the town also. Goombas and koopa troopas are among some of them. As the brothers ran through the town they noticed everybody was worried sick. Some were talking about what happened at the castle and others seemed like they didn't want to acknowledge such an occurrence. As they continued to run through town, some toads noticed them and one shouted, "It's the Mario Bros.!" Everybody turned over and an aurora of relieve and happiness fill the atmosphere. "Yeah, the Mario Bros. are will get her back." "Of course, they always save the day." "We can always count on them." And they all cheered for them as Mario yelled back, "Don't worry everyone, we will get to the bottom of this and bring her back safely." Everybody in the area clapped as Mario & Luigi ran through the castle gates. They made it to the front doors and walked into the castle. They immediately noticed 2 guards standing next to the stairs that was leading to the door to the second floor. The castle is basically the same layout as of Super Mario 64 where the walls were painted with a ground landscaping scenery. They were in the main first floor hall of the castle. Mario looked at the 2 guards and said, "Where's Toadsworth and Toad!?" His voice echoed. "Upstairs, first door on your right." replied the guards.

They ran up the stairs and through the double door and then ran up the winding staircase and went through another door and now were on the 2nd floor. The walls were painted with only the sky and clouds, signifying that the higher you go, the closer you are to the stars. The first thing they saw was the painting of stars and a big painting of a blue water spider, with four legs, walking on water. Mario looked to his right and saw the door that had a crown on it. They ran to the door and wand slowly walked into the room. Mario went in first and he stopped to see that Toadsworth was in the pink bed with a breathing tube. The room has red carpet with pink colors around the room with big portraits, some have silver frames and some have gold frames. One was a painting of Mario smiling and giving the peace sign, another was a painting of Luigi smiling and holding his suspenders and another was a painting of Princess Peach with her arms crossed over her body and was smiling. That picture was hanging over the bed. There are two more big paintings, one of Toadsworth and one of Toad. This was Princess Peach's room.

A couple of guards were there by the door and so Toad was standing by the bed and noticed Mario. Then he glanced back at Toadsworth with the doctors hovering over him. Mario walked toward Toadsworth and Luigi walked in quietly and easily closed the door behind him. It was a big room with equipment by Toadsworth bed. Luigi, too, walked toward Toadsworth. Mario stood next to Toad and Luigi stood on the opposite side of the bed. Mario took off his hat and held it over his heart and Luigi did the same thing. "Mario, Luigi, come with me to dining room." pleaded Toad. They put their hats back on their heads and they proceeded to follow Toad to the dining room. They noticed the bandage shape "X" on the back of his mushroom head.

They walked out of Princess Peach's room and continued in the direction Mario & Luigi were going to get to her room in the first place. They can hear their footsteps echoed through the hall as their reflection was being casted off the shiny marble floor. They looked at more paintings on the wall and one was a portrait of Mushroom Mountain, a very tall mountain, otherwise known as Tall-Tall Mountain. Another was a portrait of an old ship looking like it's sinking into the water of Jolly Roger Bay. They reached the dining room door which had a star saying Dining room and they all walked through it. Mario & Luigi gasped and they were shocked of what they saw. The room had a huge hole in it and the table shattered into pieces. They also noticed the chandelier on the floor in shattered pieces. "Mario, Luigi, we need your help. As you are well aware, the Princess has been kidnapped and Toadsworth got shot by the same culprit." "Who could have done this, Toad?" asked Luigi. "This isn't…him is it?' asked Mario. "Fortunately I don't think he is involved in this but luckily, I saw his face before somebody else hit me over the head." "Who was it?" asked Mario. "It was that sleezeball Wario." "WARIO!" shouted Mario. "Then Waluigi must have been the one that hit you in the head." added Luigi. "That's a strong assumption and I do believe it was him." replied Toad. "Wario damn him, what the hell is he up to this time?" asked Mario. "I don't know and it's strange, he never pulled a stunt like this before." said a confused Toad. Mario started to think, "Wario is driven by greed, but even I think he wouldn't sink this low for gold coins. Something must be amiss." "But, you have to rescue the Princess, you must." pleaded Toad.

"We will get her back Toad, and we are going to Wario's Fortress right now." exclaimed Mario. "We are!?" asked Luigi who became a bit surprised. "Damn right we are and Toad, about that job today." "I'm sure nobody will be concerned about that anymore, at least for now. Just please rescue the Princess." said Toad. "Luigi, let's-a go." said Mario as he turn around and started to leave. But Luigi didn't move and said, "Maybe I should stay here." Mario stopped and quickly walked back to his brother. "Come on Luigi, We need to do this together, it'll be like old times. Plus its Wario and Waluigi, I can't handle both of them by myself." Luigi folded his arms, looked down, and thought for a moment. Then he quickly looked back at Mario and answered, "Ok, Mario. Let's-a go." "Alright let's-a go." shouted Mario with glee. "I'm going back to Toadsworth room." "Ok Toad." said Luigi. Mario & Luigi were about to run out of the door and Mario said, "We will bring her back." Toad nodded. Then Mario had a thought and he reached into his overalls. "Oh, there's something I want to give you." And he found what he was looking for. "Ah, last one." And he pulled out a Blue and Red megavitamin. "Give this to Toadsworth when you can." And he tossed it to Toad and he caught it. "It will prevent him from getting a virus and speed up his recovery." "Okay, Mario." said Toad and the Mario Bros. were on their way to Wario's Fortress.

Mario & Luigi walked out of the room and they went back down to the first floor. Then they went to the door located under the stairs that leads into the other end of the basement and walked through it. Then they were in a hallway fill with wall lamps and saw stairs leading down. They saw another door at the other end of the hallway which led outside to the courtyard. Luigi was following Mario down the stairs and went through another door and now they were finally in the basement. They were at the other end of the basement from when the Princess, Toad and Toadsworth were originally and were lit up with the old wall lamps. Mario looked over to his left and noticed the sliding door with a star on it. They walked up to it and the door slid open and they saw down the hallway, were lit up with torches of red fire and a very big portrait at the very end of the hallway. The portrait has a silver frame with a bunch of Warp Pipes. They walked over to the painting. "Mario, do you even know where Wario's Fortress is anyway?" asked Luigi as his voice echoed. "Yeah it's at the outskirts of the Mushroom Kingdom, but it's surrounded by woods." Luigi gulped and tried to hide it but Mario heard it anyway. "Woods?" asked Luigi. He started to feel nervous now. "The Forever Forest if you want to be exact. We have to go through them in order to get to his place." Mario walked up to the painting and Luigi stopped and was staring at him when Mario reached it. "I don't like the woods. What if we get lost?" asked Luigi as he started shaking now. "We won't get lost. I know where to go."

Mario was feeling the edge of the painting as if he was looking for something. "Mario, remember when King Boo tricked me into winning a Mansion?" "Yeah, I thought that was a bit fishy, but that was a long time ago. Plus this is different and you captured him and gave him up to the Professor so I doubt we'll see him again anyway." "Yeah, but I got lost in the woods on my way to that mansion and I was so scared to death, I wanted to just cry. The only thing that kept me sane was stupid flashlight." Mario gave out a little chuckle, but Luigi was more scared than usual now. Mario found a red button on the frame and he pressed it. He felt the painting and his hand went right through it as if it was liquefied like water. He turned around and said, "Luigi, I will be with you and we won't get lost. I can assure you that." Luigi walked toward him and stood next to him. "You ready, Luigi?" He nodded.

Mario turned around towards the painting and he jumped through it and Luigi followed him and now they were behind the painting. They were in a big room that was also lit up with torches. They looked around and saw a bunch of Warp Pipes that can lead to anywhere in the Mushroom Kingdom. The areas were engraved into the pipes and they were color coded to which pipe goes where. Green is near Towns and villages, red is near Shooting Star Summit, blue is near water areas, and yellow is near wooded areas. Mario walked up and down looking for the Pipe that he needed to take. He finally found it and pointed, "This yellow one, it will lead near The Forever Forest." Mario jumped in the Pipe and Luigi jumped in after him.

Near the edge of the Mushroom Kingdom, a Yellow Pipe sprouted up from the ground and Mario & Luigi jumped out of it. Then the Yellow Pipe went back into the ground. Mario immediately saw a sign near the forest area and he ran right to the sign with Luigi following him. They reached it and Luigi read, "THE FOREVER FOREST! STAY OUT!" They looked at the woods and Luigi said frightened, "We have to go through that!?" "Yep, that's where the Fortress is." Luigi was shaking and Mario looked at him. "We'll stay close together. C'mon." and they walked into The Forever Forest. Even though it is nice outside, going into the woods makes it a different story. The deeper you go into this forest, the darker it gets and soon it gets to the point where it's so dark, you can barely see anything. Luigi stayed close to Mario as he looked up at the dead and bluish leaves of the trees. They were following a muddy dirt path that was littered with dead foliage as they walked over dead sticks and branches.

Mario looked down at the muddy floor with dried dead leaves and saw a huge and thick stick in the mud. He stopped and proceeded to pick it up with his right hand. The stick drooped mud on to the floor and made a distinctive "plop" sound and they heard bird wings flapping. He took his left hand and closed it with force and with his concentration, his hand was shaking violently. Then he opened it up very fast and a fireball appeared in his hand and then he placed it on the edge of the stick and thus, the stick became a torch. Then they heard an owl hoot in the darkness and Luigi jumped and said "What was that!?" "It's only an owl." They kept walking and they heard some crows squawking too. Luigi was shaking all over the place. They kept going forward with Mario moving his torch left and right to see in front of him and then they came to a fork in the road.

They stopped and Mario put his hand over his chin and started thinking. "What?" asked Luigi scared. "I'm lost." "WHAT!" Luigi shouted, at the top of his lungs. His scream was so loud that it echoed through the trees and they heard loud and continuous flapping. They bent over and Luigi covered his head with his hands as Mario lifted his torch and looked up. He barely saw all the birds and crows leaving the trees, squawking and scrambling to leave the area. After a moment the noise level died down and when there were no more of them, Mario chuckled and said, "I'm joking, I'm joking." Luigi staggered up, "Mario, that's not funny!" He said angrily. "I'm sorry. I won't let anything happen to you. You know that, don't you?" Luigi nodded in approval. "And I won't let anything happen to you." said Luigi back to him. Mario smiled, Luigi smiled back at him, and then they shook hands. "C'mon Mario, let's get out of here, please." he said with the horror still in his voice. Mario looked at the fork in the road and went left with Luigi following behind him.

Soon they started to see a red faint glow out in the distance. They walked closer and soon they saw a big tower and they made a mad dash toward it. They reached the front of the tower and they quickly stopped. "Oh thank God we made it." said Luigi. Mario looked up at the big "W" in the middle as the two torches with red fire hanging on the wall next to the big heavy metal doors were giving off some light along with the torch he was holding. They walked to the big heavy metal doors and both of them leaned against it. Mario put his finger over his mouth. "SHHHHHHH. We have to be quiet so we don't get detected." he said in a whisper. Luigi nodded, but Mario couldn't tell if it was a yes or no because Luigi was shaking all over the place. Anyway, Mario opened the door slowly and made a squeaking sound. They walked in and Luigi easily closed the door behind them. But as soon as the door shut, Luigi was whacked in the head. He groaned and he fell to the floor. Mario turned around and saw Luigi on the floor not moving and nervously said, "Luigi?" Then Mario was whacked in the head and he fell to the floor. He moaned, grabbed his head and turned his body. He saw Waluigi with a hand held Bullet Bill cannon and then he slowly blacked out.

After about 15 minutes or so, Luigi finally woke up. "Oh my head. Where am I? Mario?" Luigi looked around. "MARIO!" he shouted and he saw him sticking out of a big cannon next to him. "Mario wake up!" But he didn't move. "MARIO, WAKE UP!" Then he started to move his head and his eyes started to slowly open. He looked around and saw they were in a big room with a giant round window in the middle of the wall with a big "W" in the middle. "Ow my head. What's going on?" "I don't know, Mario." replied Luigi. Mario looked to his right and saw guards in front of a door. He has never seen those types of guards before nor has he never seen their kind either. They are the same size as goombas, but had a short spear for a nose and they were blue in color. These particular guards were also holding spears. Mario looked over at Luigi. "Luigi, you're stuck in a cannon." Luigi noticed he was stuck in the cannon and he panicked. "Oh no! What are we going to do?" "Mario tried to move but, he was also stuck in the cannon. Then, they heard knocking on the door the guards were in front of. They looked over toward the door as the guards opened it and they saw two people come in.

One person was wearing a yellow shirt and hat with a blue "W" on it. He was wearing purple pants, green pointy shoes, and white gloves with a blue "W" on each of them. He has brown hair, black zigzag mustache, and a big pink nose. He is the same height as Luigi, but he is fatter than Mario and his name is Wario. The other person was wearing a purple shirt and hat with a yellow "_upside down backward L_" He was wearing black pants, orange pointy shoes, and white gloves with the same symbol that's on his hat. He has a black thin mustache, which looks like a "W" with brown hair and pink nose as well. He is skinnier than Luigi, but also taller than him and his name is Waluigi.

In a deep gruff, Wario said, "Well, if it isn't Mario & Luigi coming to the rescue. I knew you two would be coming." He said as he walked over to Mario and was now standing in front of him. "What have you done with the Princess!?" Mario shouted. Waluigi was standing in front of Luigi now. He said, in a high nasally voice, "That's none of your business." "What are you planning to do!?" shouted Mario. Wario thought for a moment and said, "We're not going to tell you. You think we're stupid or something?" "Yeah you think we'll tell you that we're seeking the 7 Gold Stars?" "The 7 Gold Stars?" asked Luigi. Wario looked at Waluigi with anger and Waluigi frowned as he realized what he just said. Wario turned back over to Mario & Luigi. "Yeah." said Wario. "They are supposed to grant anybody beyond imaginable power." added Waluigi. Wario looked over at him again as Waluigi continued. "And with that, the Mushroom Kingdom will be in our total control!" "WHA HA HA HA HA!" laughed Waluigi. Wario jumped in the air and slammed his fist on his head. Waluigi grabbed his head and shouted "Ow! What the hell Wario?" "You talk too much, that's what the hell!" he responded in anger.

Luigi couldn't say anything. He was shocked with fear, but Mario shouted, "Why do you need the Princess then!? Even you wouldn't stoop so low as to kidnap the Princess." Wario barked at him, "Like we said, NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!" Mario shouted back, "YOU TWO ARE INSANE, YOU KNOW THAT!?" "Shut up. I'm tired of you and Luigi getting in our way all the time." Wario pointed to the wall and the one guard walked over to it and pulled a lever. The cannons started rising and the ceiling and window started to open up. "This time, Waluigi and I are going to succeed and there is nothing you can do to stop us." The cannons stopped and the ceiling and window were fully open, with the cannons pointing in the open direction. Mario & Luigi saw the dark open sky in front of them. "Oh my God!" shouted Luigi. He tried to escape, but it was no use. Mario knew it too. "You'll never get away with this Wario and Waluigi." shouted Mario. They walked over behind the cannons and lit the fuses. "Oh yes I think we will." said Waluigi. The fuses went into the cannons and they started to shake violently. "GET READY LUIGI!" shouted Mario as they closed their eyes. "Goodbye plumbers. WHA HA HA HA HA!" they laughed as the cannons exploded with Mario & Luigi in them. They were fired into the dark sky, leaving a trail of smoke, and vanished. Wario and Waluigi kept laughing as the ceiling closed up.

_**A couple of hours later**_

The Mario Bros. can be seen lying on the ground in a random field somewhere in the Mushroom Kingdom. Unfortunately, they are unconscious from the impact they sustained and there is no sign of anybody around to help them. But soon, a projected image appeared before them and was hovering around. Then a few more appeared and then there were 7 of them. They all looked at Mario & Luigi and one of them spoke up, "Oh dear, this is a serious problem." Another on spoke up, "If those stars are found, it could mean the very Mushroom Kingdom and even the Mushroom World could be in danger." Everybody nodded and another one spoke up, "We have to help them recover." Then what appears to be the leader spoke up, "Yes, they have helped us in the past and I think they are the only ones who can stop this madness from ever occurring a second time. Everybody, give them what power you can and soon we will meet them again when time comes." Everybody transferred their energy to the Mario Bros. and when they finished, they gently disappeared.

After a few moments, Luigi slowly woke up and rubbed his head and eyes and quickly looked around to see where he was. He glanced over at Mario who was still on the ground. "Mario." he nudged his brother and called him again. "Mario." Mario slowly moved and sat up also holding his head and rubbing his eyes. Then he looked at Luigi and asked, "What happened?" Then they both realized what had happened to them prior to waking up just now. Mario moaned as he tried to stand up. He brushed himself off as Luigi stood up next to him, brushing himself off also. "Damn you Wario, damn you both." Mario said to himself but loud enough for Luigi to hear. Luigi turned toward him and asked, "So now what do we do? I think going back to the tower wouldn't accomplish anything at the moment, not that I want to go back anyway." Mario agreed and he then he replied, "You're right, I think right now the best course of action is to go see Merlin and ask him what the heck are these Gold Stars." and Mario started walking forward and Luigi casually followed behind him. "Mamma Mia Mario, I never even heard of these Gold Stars before." "Me neither Luigi, but I think Merlin might know considering he knows everything anyway, so it wouldn't surprise me."

They walked out of the field full of trees and they came across an old village that seemed abandoned. They looked around and noticed two run-downed old house shaped like a goomba and a mushroom and Mario said with certainty, "I know where we are now." "You do? Then where are we?" "We are in the old Goomba village. Goombario and his family use to live hear but the moved out a very long time ago. Look the white fence is still there which means this path is Goomba Road, it leads us back to Toad Town." Mario pointed. "Great, at least we are not lost or completely don't know where we are." replied Luigi with relief. "Let's-a go Luigi." And the Mario Bros. walked through the old run-down fence and continued to travel down the dirt road back to Toad Town.

Pretty soon, they made it back to the main gate of Toad Town and continued to walk passed the big Clock post in the entrance of Toad Town. Mario took a glance at the time and it read 4:05 pm and quickly turned to notice some toads walking around, going about their usual business. They passed over the giant star in the front of the entrance and they kept heading east through the town, passing some building and the item shop. Soon they eventually saw Merlin's House. "All the toads seem content with themselves. Maybe they don't know what's going on." said Luigi. "And it's best that they don't find out because we don't want everybody getting worried sick that we got blasted out of the tower and failed to get the Princess back." added Mario with a whisper. They finally reached Merlin's house and were standing in front of the door. His house is purple with a bunch stars on it and has a rotating roof, spinning like a top. The house itself looks like a small tent, but it's Merlin's house and he prefers it that way. Surprisingly enough, his house has no windows at all. Mario knocked on door.

"Merlin is out!" "Merlin, it's us." said Mario. "Oh." They saw the doorknob jiggled and it opened and there was Merlin. He is the same height as Mario and wore a blue robe over his body. The only thing that is visible in his face was his tiny green eyes. He has a very long and thick white mustache that had the shape close to a horseshoe, and a star pendent in the middle of where your necktie would be. "Mario, Luigi, come in. I have been expecting you." Merlin turned around to walk back in his house as Mario tapped Luigi with his arm, raised his eyebrows twice, and smiled. Mario walked in and Luigi lifted his hand and index finger as he was going to say something, but he decided not to.

Luigi closed the door behind him and Merlin was behind his crystal ball. They walked to the opposite side of where Merlin was standing, on the other end of the table. "Mario Bros, we are in deep trouble." said Merlin concerned. "This doesn't have to do with the 7 Gold Stars, does it?" asked Luigi. "I'm afraid so. The visions had told me that you were coming, regarding the 7 Gold Stars." "We never even heard of them before." said Mario. "Well, those 7 Stars were created by my great, great ancestors, Merloc, Merlon, and Merleeve. They created them to stop a supernatural spirit that was corrupting the Mushroom Kingdom. Those 7 Stars are to be combined to form the one and only Great Star." "The Great Star?" they both asked with curiosity. "Yes. The Great Star was so powerful that anyone who wields it will have so much power that they can virtually almost do anything, similar to the Star Rod I suppose. They used it and they destroyed the evil spirit and fortunately, it was eradicated from existence. But, those Stars are so powerful, that they couldn't, and can't, be destroyed. Even the Star Rod can't be used to wish them into non-existence. So, they decided to scatter and hide them throughout the Mushroom Kingdom feeling keeping it in one spot would be very dangerous."

"How does Wario and Waluigi, know about them?" asked Mario. Merlin reached under the table and he pulled out a folded piece of paper. "Since they hid the stars, they-" and he opened the folded piece of paper, "-made maps." They leaned over the table to take a look. It was a map of the Mushroom Kingdom, identical to the one Princess Peach had. "The maps are magical and change according to the circumstances, for instance, the year and the geographic nature." "What does that have to do with Wario and Waluigi?" asked Mario. Merlin sighed. "No!" Merlin shook his head. "I knew there were two maps regarding these 7 stars but I never thought the other one would be in the Princess's Castle and she found it. This is unfortunate because now that she is captured, we are in a predicament here."

Mario & Luigi looked at him puzzled. "When Wario and Waluigi kidnapped the Princess, they stole the map as well." They looked at the map again. Then Luigi ask, "Why the Princess?" "I don't know, but you can bet that they were after her and the map, which means they had to have had prior knowledge of this to begin with. Also, in order to have that power, it must be turned into the Great Star. Therefore, not having all the stars will do nothing so that might be something to go off on." said Merlin as he fixed his pendent. Then, they thought for a moment and then Luigi said, "We need to find those stars before they do."

"But!" interrupted Merlin, "A star by itself can do certain things, and it will. The question is what does each star do alone?" "You don't know?" asked Mario. "The power of the Gold Stars is beyond my understanding. I never really had any other reason to research into such power considering that these were probably not meant to be found." "Can you help us out?" asked Mario. "Yes I can. I can only reveal where the first star is located, that much I know. But, once you are able to collect that star, the power of the star will mark the map to find the next one. They're connected by a frequency of magic which, sadly, I don't understand either." "Well, go ahead Merlin, do your stuff." said Mario. Merlin took the map and he placed it under the ball and then he rubbed his hand together hovering them over the crystal ball. His eyes were concentrated on the ball then it went dark and the only source of light was emitting from the Map, giving out a bright light. The crystal ball also started to shine just as bright as the map and soon, the whole room was brighter than it ever was before. Then Merlin shouted, "Oh great spirit of the Crystal ball, I know that you are pretty far, but please point us in the direction of the first Gold Star!" and he spread his hands further and a wave of light came out of the crystal ball.

Then, to Mario & Luigi's surprise, they saw the map lifted from the table and it was hovering above the crystal ball. Then, they saw an image of the 7 Gold Stars circling the map. Mario & Luigi watch on in astonishment as the stars stopped spinning around and one of the stars jumped out in front of the map as the rest vanished. The star they saw had angry black eyes and the star itself was bright Gold. Then the star grew big, and then it shrunk and slapped itself onto the map. In doing so, the light made a final bright flash and then it went dark. Moments later, the lights went back on and Merlin was holding the map in his hands.

"That was amazing!" said Luigi. "Yeah, I've never seen you do that before." added Mario. "It's what I do. Anyway here is the location of the first star." and Merlin handed them the map. They looked at it and saw the image of the star over an island. "Yoshis Island." said Merlin. "So the first star is there." said Mario. "Luigi looked a little confused and asked, "How are we supposed to get there?" "There's a boat that goes to the island, but you better hurry because I think it leaves in a little bit." said Merlin. He continued. "Also, I will do some research in my attic to learn more about these Gold Stars. "That would be a good idea. It's better to know what power we are dealing with here." "You be careful guys, Wario and Waluigi are on the trail too, I'm sure of it." "We will Merlin." said Mario & Luigi and they ran out the door and headed toward south of the town to Toad Town Harbor.

Mario & Luigi ran outside the castle and they ran down the street passing everybody else that was walking around. Soon they saw the small brown boat and the crew members moving the cargo around with the crane. Then, the ship blew its horn and was preparing to take off. "WAIT!" shouted Mario & Luigi. They saw the ship's door closing. "WAIT!" they shouted again. Then the 2-crew toads stopped and saw them running toward them. "Wait a minute." said the one toad to the other and pointed to the Mario Bros. The toads stopped what they were doing and opened the door. Mario & Luigi knew that they had to jump. "We're not going to make it!" shouted Luigi. "Yes we will!" shouted Mario. They reached the edge of the dock and they jumped as far as they could. The both made through and the crew toads closed the door.

The toads looked at them as they got up. "Thanks for waiting." said Mario as he was trying to catch his breathe. "Don't mention it. I'm sure you have a good reason to be here and I'm sure Admiral Bobbery will be pleased to meet you guys. "Admiral Bobbery is the Navigator?" asked Mario. The toads nodded in approval. "Wow." said Mario. "Since you are here, there is a special room for you two." said the crew toad. "This ship goes to Yoshis Island, right?" asked Luigi. "Yes it does. By the time we get there, it will be the next day. So relax, let us show you the deck, and enjoy the sail." said the one-crew toad. Mario & Luigi followed them to the deck, as their search for the 7 Gold Stars is about to begin.


End file.
